Recently, Starbucks has become a center of controversy for absolutely no reason.
Allow me to explain.
There is a law in some states that prohibits people from being firearms into businesses.
This might seem like a no-brainer, but apparently many states do NOT have this law.
There is a loophole, however, for the states that don't have the law, which says that businesses may use their own discretion when it comes to allowing customers to carry firearms.
Starbucks has decided not to exercise this loophole, and has said that they don't feel it's a good idea to have their employees ask people who might be carrying firearms to leave their stores.
They've also said that they don't believe it's their place to make a judgment call on something like that, and that it should be decided by the state.
Again, I see their point.
All that being said, I cannot believe that it's actually an issue of contention whether or not people should be allowed to bring firearms into a place of business.
I don't even see how it becomes a question of the right to bear arms.
If a robbery was occurring in a store, wouldn't it only make matters worse if all the customers started pulling out guns?
This isn't the Old West; it's Starbucks.
Sometimes I feel like the gun lobbyists have adopted the broken window policy. They fight every little issue involving guns, because they feel that if they let legislation pass that is in anyway anti-guns, then eventually people will show up at their homes and take their assault rifles away from them.
So instead what transpires is the dissolution of common sense.
Imagine someone with a handgun walking into a place of business--gun fully displayed, mind you--and nobody being able to say anything about it.
Forget the safety issue--what about the fact that it would probably clear the place out thereby hurting business?
I find it hard to believe this is something that even NEEDS to be legislated.
So as not to let the pro-gun control lobbyists off the hook, I have to say that I think all the money they're spending going after Starbucks is being wasted. Starbucks isn't to blame here. The state legislators are. Starbucks wants a clear-cut policy saying that guns shouldn't be allowed in businesses. They don't want to have to turn this into a case-by-case basis, and I don't think they should be put at the center of a media firestorm for feeling that way.
Basically, shame on both sides. Make legislation that actually legislates.
Leave my Starbucks alone.
Allow me to explain.
There is a law in some states that prohibits people from being firearms into businesses.
This might seem like a no-brainer, but apparently many states do NOT have this law.
There is a loophole, however, for the states that don't have the law, which says that businesses may use their own discretion when it comes to allowing customers to carry firearms.
Starbucks has decided not to exercise this loophole, and has said that they don't feel it's a good idea to have their employees ask people who might be carrying firearms to leave their stores.
They've also said that they don't believe it's their place to make a judgment call on something like that, and that it should be decided by the state.
Again, I see their point.
All that being said, I cannot believe that it's actually an issue of contention whether or not people should be allowed to bring firearms into a place of business.
I don't even see how it becomes a question of the right to bear arms.
If a robbery was occurring in a store, wouldn't it only make matters worse if all the customers started pulling out guns?
This isn't the Old West; it's Starbucks.
Sometimes I feel like the gun lobbyists have adopted the broken window policy. They fight every little issue involving guns, because they feel that if they let legislation pass that is in anyway anti-guns, then eventually people will show up at their homes and take their assault rifles away from them.
So instead what transpires is the dissolution of common sense.
Imagine someone with a handgun walking into a place of business--gun fully displayed, mind you--and nobody being able to say anything about it.
Forget the safety issue--what about the fact that it would probably clear the place out thereby hurting business?
I find it hard to believe this is something that even NEEDS to be legislated.
So as not to let the pro-gun control lobbyists off the hook, I have to say that I think all the money they're spending going after Starbucks is being wasted. Starbucks isn't to blame here. The state legislators are. Starbucks wants a clear-cut policy saying that guns shouldn't be allowed in businesses. They don't want to have to turn this into a case-by-case basis, and I don't think they should be put at the center of a media firestorm for feeling that way.
Basically, shame on both sides. Make legislation that actually legislates.
Leave my Starbucks alone.
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